1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to Christmas tree decorations and in particular to a support for use with decorative Christmas tree skirts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Christmas tree skirts are decorative fabric pieces which are placed around the base of a Christmas tree in order to hide the Christmas tree stand which holds the tree upright. In the case of cut live trees, the stand also contains a water reservoir in which the severed base of the tree rests so as to keep the tree green and well watered through the Christmas season. The Christmas tree stand is typically an unattractive metal contrivance which is less decorative than one would wish. To overcome the shortcomings of the stand, decorative skirts are employed to hide the stand and otherwise enhance the holiday decor.
Various designs of Christmas tree skirts are known. For example design, U.S. Pat. Nos. 280,979, 229,758 and 188,192 are indicative of the general state of the art in design patents for Christmas tree skirts. Typically, Christmas tree skirts are made in a generally circular shape with a central opening to accommodate the base of the Christmas tree trunk. A slit along one side from the central opening to the outer edge allows the skirt to be draped around the Christmas tree and stand. As may be seen from the patents cited, the skirts are also covered with decorative designs.
Various other devices have been proposed for surrounding or covering up the Christmas tree stand, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,323,558 and 5,256,461. Both disclose cylindrical containers and neither of these patents disclose the specific function of supporting and protecting a fabric type Christmas tree skirt.
Similarly, there are patents which disclose the function of covering or protecting the Christmas tree itself, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,872,906 and 3,750,731. The latter patent is chiefly interesting in that it discloses a skirt which wraps around the base of a tree and is fastened along one side with fasteners.
Some patents disclose Christmas tree skirts made of somewhat rigid material and formed into a conical shape around the base of the tree so that the Christmas tree stand is covered. U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,007 discloses a Christmas tree support which has a rigid cone shaped skirt covering and hiding the actual stand. U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,277 discloses a Christmas tree stand skirt made of pleated material which is fastened together along one side using velcro type fasteners. (U.S. Pat. No. 104,418 shows an earlier form of this idea used for a totally different purpose; i.e., as a protector to exclude burrowing insects from attacking living trees). This type of skirt presents some problems, particularly in the case of a live tree which must be kept in a water reservoir, which in turn must be kept full. A solid cover around the Christmas tree stand prevents easy access to the water reservoir. Furthermore, the disclosed device is itself the decorative skirt and thus has limited applicability to the problem of safely and conveniently supporting a fabric skirt.
There are also patents which disclose Christmas tree skirts which are shown as being at least partially supported by portions of the tree stand. These are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,868,255 and 2,748,516. These illustrate a situation to be avoided since Christmas tree skirts are often delicate and cannot stand the mechanical strain involved in being draped over the Christmas tree stand itself. This problem is particularly acute with antique skirts which may be highly valuable and cherished keepsakes as well. The nature of this problem may be appreciated by considering the design of typical tree stands which tend to be angular and sharp-edged and not at all suitable for supporting delicate fabrics. As illustrations of the problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,323 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,715 depict the general state of the art in Christmas tree stands.